Energy Project Responsible Labor Standards Attestation

Any person who constructs or repowers a renewable energy generation, sequestration, or storage facility with a capacity of 10 megawatts or greater in Oregon is required to comply with HB 2021 Responsible Labor Standards.

ODOE's Role

Passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2021, HB 2021 established Responsible Labor Standards requirements for developers, contractors, and subcontractors of large-scale energy projects of 10 megawatts or greater in Oregon. There were some changes made to these requirements in HB 4059 (2022). Any person constructing or repowering a covered energy project must provide an attestation and good faith documentation, as necessary, to the Oregon Department of Energy stating that all contractors and subcontractors will comply with the Responsible Labor Standards. These requirements also apply to community solar requirements of over 3 megawatts. These requirements do not apply to projects on Tribal lands.

To facilitate the attestation process, the Oregon Department of Energy has developed user friendly online attestation platform for project developers. The Oregon Department of Energy will retain all attestation forms and good faith documentation. All attestations and good faith documentation are subject to public records disclosure and the department shall make copies available upon request.

Program Details

Eligibility:

Any person who constructs or repowers a renewable energy generation, sequestration or storage facility with a capacity rating of 10 megawatts or greater in Oregon is required to comply with HB 2021 Responsible Labor Standards. The same requirement applies for community solar projects with a capacity rating over 3MW.

These requirements do not apply to projects on Tribal lands as defined in HB 4059.

Requirements:

Eligible persons must provide a signed attestation or declaration stating to the best of their knowledge and belief, and subject to penalty of perjury, that during all periods of construction all contractors and subcontractors working on the construction or repowering project will:

1. Participate in an apprenticeship program registered with the State Apprenticeship and Training Council and with graduation rates equal to or higher than the national average for each respective trade in a manner consistent with the respective apprenticeship training programs, such that 15 percent of the total work hours on a given large-scale project is performed by workers in apprenticeable occupations;
2. Establish and execute a plan for outreach, recruitment and retention of women, minority individuals, veterans and people with disabilities to perform work under the contract, with the aspirational target of having at least 15 percent of total work hours performed by individuals in one or more of those groups;
3. Have policies in place that are designed to limit or prevent workplace harassment and discrimination and that promote workplace diversity, equity and inclusion for communities who have been underrepresented in the clean energy sector, including women, veterans and Black, Indigenous and People of Color;
4. Maintain a license and good standing to perform the work and remain eligible to receive a contract or subcontract for public works under ORS 279C.860;
5. Materially demonstrate a history of compliance in the previous seven years, or provide available history for new businesses, with the rules and other requirements of state agencies with oversight regarding workers' compensation, building codes and occupational safety and health;
6. Materially demonstrate a history of compliance, in the previous seven years, or provide available history for new businesses, with federal and state wage and hour laws;
7. Pay the area wage standard for an hour's work in the same trade or occupation in the locality where the labor is performed.
8. Offer health care and retirement benefits to the employees performing the labor on the project;
9. Provide quarterly reporting and recordkeeping to the project owner or electric utility and respond to records requests and verification.

Eligible persons must demonstrate good faith efforts if they are unable to meet the requirements of paragraph 1 by providing documented and verifiable information, including:

1. Internet addresses of employment advertisements or job announcements;
2. Dates, times, Internet addresses and attendance lists of a prejob conference with apprenticeship, preapprenticeship and workforce providers in construction;
3. Contacts requesting workers with an apprenticeship program approved by the Bureau of Labor and Industries including the date, time, telephone contact, email contact and whether a response was provided within 48 hours of the request;
4. Contacts requesting workers from a union hall including the date, time, telephone contact, email contact and whether a response was provided within 48 hours of the request;

PLA Exemption:

In lieu of providing an attestation, an eligible person may provide a copy of a project labor agreement used on the large-scale project. A project labor agreement means a prehire collective bargaining agreement as described in 29 U.S.C. 158 (f) that establishes the terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project or contract.

Developer Instructions:

1. Confirm your project meets the Responsible Labor Standards requirements by reviewing HB 4059.
2. Create an account on the ODOE Portal: Go to online portal
3. Follow the instructions to complete and sign the online attestation form.
4. Contact the project owner or electric utility to determine quarterly reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Public Requestor Instructions:

Attestations provided to the department pursuant to HB 2021 are subject to public records disclosure and the department shall provide a copy of the attestation or declaration upon request.

To request an attestation please:

1. Go to the Responsible Labor Standards Attestation submission list and find the project name and Responsible Labor Standards Attestation identification number for the attestations you are requesting.
2. Go to the ODOE public records request portal and follow the instructions to submit a new public records request form.
3. In the body of the public request, state you are requesting Responsible Labor Standards Attestations, and provide the project name and Responsible Labor Standards Attestation identification number.